Walking in Jesus’ Steps
Finally. At last! By the grace of God, I opened the file, so I could work through my editor’s revisions (our own dear Dawn Kinzer). Those editing marks were completed months ago. How I longed to jump right in when the manuscript returned to me!
However, life often requires us to bump projects around as we move people and significant events ahead of our work. If you’ve been writing for any length of time, you already know this.
Children. Weddings. Parents. Anniversaries. Birthdays. Family. Births. Deaths. Sickness.
These come first. Always, always, people come first. Jesus had the most important ministry in the world. He was constantly “interrupted” by people as he went here and there, and he always stopped to take care of those people. His mission was people.
His first miracle was at a wedding. A poor bridegroom faced shame over his lack of financial provision for his wedding. As our bridegroom, Jesus saved this young man from social embarrassment, stepping in to make water into wine and teaching us a lesson about himself.
In the middle of lecturing the Pharisees, he paused as roofing material filtered down upon him and a hole opened in the ceiling. Bit by bit, the friends of a paralyzed man ripped through the roof and lowered down their loved one. Jesus was delighted. He healed the man.
In a crowd of shoving people, all attempting to get to Jesus, people brought their children to be blessed. When the disciples sent them away, Jesus halted what he was doing and delivered the most important statement on children ever voiced. Then he blessed the kids.
Jesus headed toward Jerusalem for the most momentous event in all of human history. As he walked toward his crucifixion, a blind man called out for healing. Stopping in his tracks, Jesus turned. Of course, he went back and healed the man.
God ordered all of his creation and all of his Word around this ultimate act of caring for people—the crucifixion of his Son and his Son’s resurrection from the dead. Our salvation and the securing of our eternity were the goals of everything Jesus did.
The Bible, the entire book, circles around this event. This is the why. This is the pinnacle: Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection. He lived and died and rose for us—for people—to save us from an eternity apart from God and to restore us to right communion with God.
As we sit down to write, as we pound out these words, inevitably the lives of others, the needs of people, and the calls to serve face to face will demand that we temporarily sideline a project. If you don’t know this yet, you will.
God in the flesh modeled what ministry looks like. Jesus was in constant communion with God, following the Father’s lead. Jesus showed us how to live as we serve the Lord God. People are more important than tasks. Kindness is winsome. Bringing needy people into God’s kingdom is our ministry priority. These are our marching orders.
To walk in Jesus’ steps, we keep our eyes on the whys and the Source.
Why are we writing in the first place? If we’re writing to serve the Lord, to obey his calling, and to proclaim his message, then it’s imperative that we keep our ministry of writing in line with his model. What did he do? We must do likewise.
The Lord put people first: loving them, serving them, leading them to salvation, being present with them. He is the Source of our words, of our lives, of our unique calling, of the very world in which we live and move and breathe.
As the Source, what does he want of us? We are to walk in his steps.
When he brings needs to our attention, when we must set aside a project momentarily or for a season, we know that he will return us to that work when the time is right, when we have done what he has called us to do, when we have been his own hands and feet.
We are Christ’s body on the earth. Let’s walk in his steps. Serve the people.
The Lord put people first. He is the Source of our words, of our lives, of our unique calling, of the very world in which we live and move and breathe. As the Source, what does he want of us? We are to walk in his steps.
#seriouslywrite #encouragementforwriters via @MelindaVInman
#seriouslywrite #encouragementforwriters via @MelindaVInman
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| Melinda V. Inman, Author of Refuge; Fallen; and No Longer Alone |
Raised on the Oklahoma plains in a storytelling family, Melinda Viergever Inman now spins tales from her writer's cave in the coastal South. Her faith-filled fiction illustrates our human story, wrestling with our brokenness and the storms that wreak havoc in our lives.
Melinda has two projects releasing this fall. One is a novella—Benjamin’s Blessing, Book #2 in a Mafia Princesses and Mountain Men series written with a group of Christian writers. If you loved 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, you’ll love this modern take on the story. Book 0 is already available for preorder at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V7K4LKS/.
Melinda’s other project for 2019 is the sequel to No Longer Alone—the novel The Shadows Come, publishing near Thanksgiving, just in time for Christmas gifts! All of Melinda’s work, including past titles, can be found on her Amazon Author page at http://bit.ly/MelindasBooks.
Connections:
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinda-V-Inman/189731601076470
Website: http://melindainman.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaVInman
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